Hi!! Several people on here have encouraged me to do a trip report--so here goes nothing!! I hope you will subscribe!!

We are headed to WDW May 16-23, 2009 and will be staying at the Polynesian. Dh and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary!! This will be the first trip for my 2 dd's and they could not be more excited!! This will be my third trip--my first trip was when I was 3 years old and my 2nd trip was the Spring of 1994. I was a freshman in high school and we had a choir competion at WDW. Dh has been several times but it has been awhile.

Time for introductions!!!

Me (Becky)--turning the big 30 in just a few months!! My family and I live in Memphis, TN (well--a suburb really). I am a former Kindergarten teacher and am now a SAHM! I enjoy blogging, bow making, theater, singing, volleyball, shopping, Alabama football (roll tide!!), Facebook (sooo addicted!) and photography. I am very active at my church where I sing solos/duets (with my dh) and sing in our Worship Choir. I am a perfectionist/OCD and take planning this trip very seriously!! (And it's oh so much fun!! ) Dh is constantly asking me, "Are you on that Disney board again?!" (I've been reading a TON of PTRs and TRs recently--plus it's sooo addicting--I know you can relate!) May cannot get here fast enough--so in the meantime I am living vicariously through many of my friends who have gone to WDW in the past few months (and many of you by reading your PTRs).

This is a pic of me from Christmas (I'm usually the one behind the camera)

DH (Brent)--35 and really looking forward to our WDW trip--even if he doesn't always act like it!! Brent is an engineer, Star Wars buff, and HUGE fan of the Crimson Tide (he and everyone in his family went to U of A). He coteaches our Sunday School Class, is a deacon at our church, and sings in the Worship Choir. Brent is the smartest person I know but is also down-to-earth and much more laid back than I. We met in 1996 (when he moved to TN from AL) and were married in 1999.

A pic of us at Christmas

DD (Ally)--4 1/2--a mini-me!! She looks like me and acts like me (scary!!). She will be starting Kindergarten in August and is already reading!! She loves princesses, taking dance (this is her 3rd year), American Girl dolls, drawing, reading, anything Disney, and singing in her preschool choir. She is quite the performer--this past Christmas she asked her choir director if she would be getting her own microphone for their choir performance!! Hee hee! She also loves to pretend she's Sharpay from HSM or Hannah Montana. She thrives on a schedule and when anything deviates from it--watch out! (she may be more OCD than me! YIKES!! What have I created?!?!) I named my PTR from a phrase I hear from her ALL THE TIME! "Mommy, when will it be our turn?!" The past few months I've had at least 7 friends who have taken trips to WDW--she's seen their pics and heard all about their trips and she is READY TO GO--TODAY!! Can't say I blame her! Her favorite princess is Ariel with Cinderella as a close 2nd! She is also my poser (see pics below).

Ally--age 2--Halloween

Ally--age 4--this past Halloween

Visiting AGPNY over Christmas

DD (Claire)--17 mo. (will be 19 mo. during our trip) and my baby!! She is a ball of energy and is my climber--she has no fear! She does not pose for pics like her big sis--what can I say?! Maybe it will come with time. She is also a lot louder than Ally was at this age but is much more cuddly than Ally was. She is precious!! She likes to sing along with us--I think she is going to be a soprano like me! She knows how to make anyone smile--especially if she's getting in trouble--such a stinker!! Many have asked me why we're taking her on this trip and I say why wouldn't we?! They say, "Don't you want to wait until she's older?". I'm like--Disney isn't going anywhere--we CAN come back (and believe me--we will)!

Claire LOVES her baby dolls!

on the car last Sunday morning (not the best pic--took it with my phone)

My girls (4 year and 1 year pics--my girls are exactly 3 years & 3 weeks apart--to the day)

Anywho, it is soooo very late here in TN (almost 3:00 a.m.) so I hope things have made sense!! BTW--I am such the night owl. I get most of my things done after my girls go to bed. I look forward to meeting many of you!!

Hi Becky, great start so far. Your family is going to love staying at the Poly. I can see planning this trip has become addicting for you since you are up at 3am. There is so much to read on this board, right? What a beautiful family you have. I love that picture of your DD's , so cute. Of course the AGPNY one is adorable too, Kaylee has that outfit too but of course it was too hot to wear it when we went. Looking forward to more of your plans and hoping you booked a princess meal for your DD's. I posted on my trip report about the menu's and some thing you can do for your Anniversary. I just thought of something else, You can also book a Wishes fireworks cruise right from the Poly. They even decorate the boat. It might be expensive though around $250 I think. Probably there might not be time for that since it's your first trip in a while. Do have a reservation for Coral Reef? I can give you the number there to see about the personlaized menu's, let me know. Here are some of the cake thread links in case you want to order one. At least at Polynesian you can have it delivered to your room if you don't want to have it at say 'Ohana.

Hi Becky!
Great start! Avery-my DD and Ally have much in common! Avery also starts K in Aug and is reading and writing already as well. She is just stating dance class and getting her first AMG doll for her bday. She is also very schedule oriented and loves going to sunday school! I hope we can meet up sometime when we are there! Her favorite princess is Ariel and thanks to my buddy Leanne will be in a beautiful Ariel dress to have bkfst at CRT. Her personality is more like my hubby-a little more quiet and shy. My little one is the mini me and a firecracker! SHe is the life of the party!
Avery wanted to say hi to Ally "Hi, I'm Avery-I like your Ariel costume, I am a little shy when I meet new people but I will say hi if I see you at Disney world"
Very excited to read more of your plans!

Hi Becky, great start so far. Your family is going to love staying at the Poly. I can see planning this trip has become addicting for you since you are up at 3am. There is so much to read on this board, right? What a beautiful family you have. I love that picture of your DD's , so cute. Of course the AGPNY one is adorable too, Kaylee has that outfit too but of course it was too hot to wear it when we went. Looking forward to more of your plans and hoping you booked a princess meal for your DD's. I posted on my trip report about the menu's and some thing you can do for your Anniversary. I just thought of something else, You can also book a Wishes fireworks cruise right from the Poly. They even decorate the boat. It might be expensive though around $250 I think. Probably there might not be time for that since it's your first trip in a while. Do have a reservation for Coral Reef? I can give you the number there to see about the personlaized menu's, let me know. Here are some of the cake thread links in case you want to order one. At least at Polynesian you can have it delivered to your room if you don't want to have it at say 'Ohana.

Thanks Nichole!! Yes, this board is VERY addicting!! I spent all day yesterday reading PTRs & TRs!!! Thank you for all the info on restaurants, cakes, etc. (And or the links--makes it easier to find!!). We do not have a ressie for The Coral Reef--I will post our ADRs shortly! Yes, I booked 2 princess meals--CRT & Akerhaus!! Can't get enough princesses!! I wanted to post more last night (or should I say early this morning) but I was too tired!!

Hi Becky!
Great start! Avery-my DD and Ally have much in common! Avery also starts K in Aug and is reading and writing already as well. She is just stating dance class and getting her first AMG doll for her bday. She is also very schedule oriented and loves going to sunday school! I hope we can meet up sometime when we are there! Her favorite princess is Ariel and thanks to my buddy Leanne will be in a beautiful Ariel dress to have bkfst at CRT. Her personality is more like my hubby-a little more quiet and shy. My little one is the mini me and a firecracker! SHe is the life of the party!
Avery wanted to say hi to Ally "Hi, I'm Avery-I like your Ariel costume, I am a little shy when I meet new people but I will say hi if I see you at Disney world"
Very excited to read more of your plans!

Click to expand...

Hi Mary!! Glad you're joining in!! Avery & Ally DO have a lot in common!! I'll have to show Ally pics from your PTR! It would be neat to meet-up. I need to compare our park days (we didn't get Park Hoppers). I saw that Ariel dress in your thread--beautiful--I know she'll love it! Ally is very outgoing/friendly--she'll talk to anyone. I'm not sure who she got that from--both Brent and I were quite shy as children. Thankfully I'm much more outgoing now! Avery is so sweet to say "hi" to Ally. I'll be sure to tell her!!

Ok--I feel the need to back up a bit--I think it's my OCD coming out and having to have an order to this PTR. So back up to November 2008!! (I found my blog post from November 21, 2008--gotta love blogs!!) I'm just going to copy/paste it here--I talk about my travel agent and I'm not sure if I'm allowed to share that info on this board so I will call her Mrs. K.

Friday, November 21, 2008
We're Going to Disney World!

I booked our trip to Walt Disney World this week! We are going with the girls May 16-23, 2009 to celebrate our 10th Anniversary! We are all VERY excited! I've only been to WDW twice--when I was 3 and for a choir competition when I was a freshman in high school. Brent has been twice as well--but it has been awhile. This will be Ally and Claire's very 1st Disney trip.

I wasn't sure how to go about booking our trip so my friend Terri gave me the name of her Disney travel agent. (Mrs. K) Anyone who is ever thinking they might go to WDW someday needs to write her name and number down! She is absolutely PHENOMENAL (and FREE because she works for Disney)!! She was so helpful and FULL of knowledge. I had already done quite a bit of research (me being the planner that I am) and I was a little concerned about getting reservations for the prime characters meals--especially Cinderella's Royal Table (dining in Cinderella's castle with the princesses). In the "Unoffical Guide to WDW" I read that you must call 180 days out at 7:00 a.m. EST (so that's 6 a.m. our time) and if you're lucky you'll get a reservation. The book had THREE pages with tips/tricks on how to land the reservation--synchronizing your watch with when you call and hoping for the best. Needless to say, I was a little stressed out after reading this. Well Mrs. K was able to get us reservations within minutes of getting off of the phone with me. She will also be reserving the other character meals of our choice as soon as she is able.

We were able to take advantage of a great deal: Buy 4 days/nights at WDW and get 3 days/nights for FREE!! We chose the Polynesian Resort because it has great access to all of the parks AND I've always wanted to visit Hawaii. Ally is super excited about the pool!

My travel agent already sent us a HUGE packet full of great info that I can't wait to look through! I just can't say enough good things about Mrs. K. She is going to help me plan our trip day-by-day using her insider knowledge of what parks to avoid on which days, how to acquire the best seats for a fireworks show, etc. So for the next several months I'm going to be in planning mode (so exciting for someone with a Type A personality like me). We will be counting down the days until May 16th!!

So my travel agent had told me that it would be around Dec. 20th when she would get to book the rest of my ADRs. But as you know Disney kept pushing back the date and then they made ADRs 90 days out. So it wasn't until February that she was able to book. So here was my blog entry that day--showing ADRs and which parks we'll do each day (since we don't have Park Hoppers). Oh--and we do have the Basic Dining Plan!!

Sunday, February 15, 2009
Disney Dinner Reservations--Booked!!

It is 90 days before our trip to Disney World which means today is the day we book our dining reservations for our character meals! And since we have such a fabulous travel agent, I didn't have to do a thing!! She was up bright and early this morning booking our reservations for us!! Here is what we have!! I'm getting sooooo excited about our trip!!!

5/18: Magic Kingdom
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Castle Location
Crown Package
8:00am
*Since this is before the park opens, you will need your confirmation number for addmittance to the park. It's a great photo op, Main St. and the castle with nobody else in your photos!

Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table
10:05am

5/19: Animal Kingdom
Dinner at 'Ohana
Polynesian Resort
5:05pm

5/20: Epcot
Princess Storybook Breakfast
Norway Pavilion in The World Showcase
8:00am
*Since this is before park opening, you will need your confirmation number to enter the park. There is a ticket turnstile marked "Princess Breakfast" off to the left of the entrance

5/21: Magic Kingdom
Breakfast at Chef Mickey's
Contemporary Resort
7:45am
*You can take the monorail over, then the Contemporary is a short walk from the Magic Kingdom. I didn't want you guys to miss the really neat Opening Ceremony at 9am

We don't have any ADRs booked for the day we arrive (Sat, May 16th) or the day we depart (Sat, May 23rd). However, one of those days we get to go to a park--any suggestions? Which day and which park? May 16th we will arrive at MCO at 11:38 a.m. and will depart on May 23rd at 4:50 p.m. (I booked the earliest flight coming and the latest flight going in order to maximize our time at WDW!!)

Your ADR's look great! I love the planning but I agree it is stressful at times. I don't think we have any of the same park days. On the 21st though we are going to MK to watch Spectromagic and Wishes. The morning well be in AK. Are you flying in the from Memphis? I would go to a park on arrival day probably since you'll have more time then on departure day. Also I like having a character meal (breakfast or Lunch) on our departure day. You could always go 1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian for breakfast( Mary Poppins, Alice, Pooh, Tigger, Mad Hatter) or have a nice breakfast with the characters at 'Ohana. You wouldn't have to have and early morning reservation if your not going to a park. It depends what will work better for your family. If you add another park to your Itinerary maybe Epcot or HS since you only have 1 day at each of those. But Ally might be looking forward to MK.